When Francisco entered the provincial school he knew something about local government from seeing local officials and hearing older people discuss matters of politics, but his knowledge did not extend beyond his own barrio and town. As for the history of the Philippines, he knew little more than that the islands had been under the control of Spain and were transferred to the United States. Rizal (RÏ-zÄl') Day, which was celebrated on the thirtieth day of each December, was greatly enjoyed by him as a holiday, but he had little idea of the reason for its celebration.

American boys and girls know even less than Francisco about these new possessions of ours across the Pacific. Hence, we shall find it interesting and worth while to follow the outline of Philippine history and government which Francisco studied in the provincial school.

It is now about four hundred years since the Spaniards first discovered the Philippines. An expedition under the command of Magellan set out from Spain in the year 1519, sailed across the Atlantic and down the eastern coast of South America, through the strait at the southern end of the continent, and northwest across the great Pacific, until it finally arrived at the island of Cebu. Here, on the seventh of April, 1521, a landing was made, and the country was claimed for the king of Spain.

The savage customs of the natives whom Magellan found there are shown in the method they followed when drawing up a treaty of friendship between themselves and the Spaniards. Cuts were made in the breasts of Magellan and the native chief, and each one drank some of the other’s blood as a pledge that the agreement should be kept forever. There were priests in the company, and they persuaded many of the Filipinos to accept baptism. The chief was given the new name of “King Charles I of Cebu,” and he agreed to rule under the guidance of the king of Spain.

This Cebu tribe was at war with the Filipinos living on the neighboring island of Mactan. Magellan undertook to aid his newly made allies against their enemies, and was killed in battle on the twenty-seventh of April, 1521. Thus the Spanish expedition lost its brave and able leader. Of the five vessels that set out from Spain in 1519, only one, the Victoria, returned three years later, battered and worn by its long voyage around the world, and carrying only a small fraction of the company of men who had sailed with the little fleet.

After Magellan’s expedition, several other voyages were made to the new islands, but there were no attempts at a permanent settlement until 1564. In that year, King Philip II of Spain sent out a company under the leadership of Legaspi (Le-ga?s'-pi), a brave and experienced soldier who had seen years of service in Mexico, and was well known to the king. It was he who suggested the name “Las Islas Felipinas” (LÄs Ïs'-lÄs Fe_-li-pÏ'-nÄs) for the islands, in honor of King Philip, or Felipe (Fe_-lÏ'-pe), as the name is in its Spanish form. Magellan had previously named them the San Lazaro (Sa?n LÄ'-za-ro) Islands, but this name was abandoned.

Legaspi’s company made a landing on the island of Cebu just as Magellan had done, but about seven years later it was found that the port of Manila offered a better location for the seat of government; so Legaspi transferred his capital to that place and began the building of a strong city. Later, great walls of stone were erected, and a fort was placed at the point where the Pasig (Pa?'-sig) River flows into Manila Bay. Meantime, various expeditions were sent into the interior of Luzon and other islands to subdue the natives, make treaties with the chiefs, and claim all the lands for the king of Spain.

The fortifications which were erected in Manila and at other important points in the islands were necessary for defense against invaders, and they witnessed many stirring sieges from the time they were built until Spain ceded the islands to the United States in 1898. For two hundred and fifty years, the cities and towns of the Philippines suffered from the incursions of pirates,—Chinese, Japanese, and Moros, the last-named being Mohammedan Filipinos from the southern islands. Numberless towns were attacked and plundered by these dreaded pirates who, with their swift sailing praos (prÄ'-os), or boats, would swoop down upon a town, kill the men, burn the houses, and carry away the women and children either to be sold into slavery or held for ransom. The Spanish government used all the powers at its command to suppress this piracy, but with only partial success.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the people of the Philippines were greatly troubled by invasions of Dutch and English fleets, echoes of larger wars in Europe between these countries and Spain. Commerce was preyed upon, ships were sunk, and rich stores of precious silks, spices, and gold were seized and carried off as booty. Such losses were very hard upon the merchants whose property was stolen, and the taxes, made necessary by the long struggle with these enemies, laid a still greater burden upon the people. For about two years, from 1762 till 1764, the English held Manila, but when peace was finally declared, the British flag was hauled down and the islands returned to Spain.

Wars with pirates, and with the Dutch and English, were not the only causes of distress in the Philippines, however. Numberless times in the history of the islands crops have been damaged and houses destroyed by terrific storms and earthquakes, cattle have been carried off in great numbers by disease, while cholera and smallpox have claimed thousands of human lives, and leprosy has spread itself alarmingly.

Until early in the nineteenth century, the island government was administered from Mexico rather than directly from Spain, and this often led to dishonesty and bad management of affairs. Corrupt men got into power and used their offices to enrich themselves. A system of taxation was followed for many years, by which the collectors were able to work great injustice upon the Filipinos. Commerce was so restricted that the islands, instead of developing their natural wealth, remained poor. A very strict rule governing the production and sale of tobacco required that a man’s crop be sold only to the government, and at a price which the government fixed. Schools were few, free speech was suppressed, and attempts to publish anything in criticism of the evil conditions was severely punished. A number of Filipinos of great ability and honesty of purpose, among them the patriot whose memory is kept alive by a public holiday in his honor,—Dr. JosÉ Rizal,—were executed for conspiring against the government.

Therefore it is not strange that there should have been a constantly growing spirit of dissatisfaction and rebellion, which broke out into armed revolution at numerous times during the nineteenth century. In 1898 the United States and Spain became involved in war, and when fighting ceased the Philippine Islands were ceded to the Americans. The Filipinos were displeased at this, for they desired their independence, and the insurrection was continued for several years. However, as the people came to see the real purpose of the United States government,—to stamp out disease and crime, to establish schools over the islands, to develop the natural resources of the country, and to train the people for the art of self-government,—the resistance came gradually to an end, and conditions are now peaceful throughout practically the whole of the Philippines.

When military rule could be done away with and a civil government be established, the United States followed the outlines already worked out by the Spaniards, with such changes as seemed best, keeping the three divisions,—insular or general government, provincial government, and municipal or town government.

At the head of all is the governor-general, who is appointed by the President of the United States. He is assisted by a number of men, Americans and Filipinos, who are also appointed by the President and who together make up what is called the Philippine commission. The laws for the islands are made by the Congress of the United States and by this commission acting with an assembly of representatives elected by the people. A supreme court holds its sessions in Manila and tries cases brought to it from the lower courts. There is a special system of money for the Philippines, the unit of which is called the peso (pe_'-so), and is worth half a dollar in American money. The post office system is separate and distinct from that of the United States; the stamps are different and will carry only mail which is originally posted in the Philippine Islands. A custom house is maintained for the collection of duties upon certain goods brought into the islands from other countries, and taxes are laid upon liquor, tobacco, and similar articles.

Each province has a governor and various other officers to enforce the laws, collect taxes, and do the public work. There is a court, called the Court of First Instance, for trying violations of the law. There are also an engineer to keep roads and bridges in repair and arrange for the erection of public buildings, a division superintendent of schools who, under the director of education at Manila, has charge of public education in his province, and other legal, financial, and military officials.

The presidente, who corresponds to the mayor of a city in this country, is at the head of the town government, and he is aided by a municipal council, whose members are elected by the voters of the central town and its barrios. Small cases of law-breaking are tried before justices of the peace, and order is kept by a municipal police force.

Such, in brief, is the form of government now in force in the Philippine Islands. The natives play a very large part in the administration of public affairs, most of the offices are open to Filipinos of ability, and peace and good order are apparent everywhere. Much remains to be done before conditions are exactly as they should be, but the establishment of free public schools from one end of the archipelago to the other, the decrease in crime and disorder, the almost complete prevention of the terrible plagues of cholera and smallpox, and the removal of all lepers to one island where the disease cannot be given to others, are important results of the new era in the Philippine Islands, for which the Filipinos should be grateful to the United States.